Toy



Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

C. S. SIMMONS.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED mma, 19w.

u 1 K "n 4 s T F E H S 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SHUBRIGK SIMLIONS, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

TOY.

Application filed March 8,.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES S. SIMMONS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inToys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to toys and has as its object to provide a toy which will be automatic in its operation and will prove highly amusing. Also it is an object of the invention to provide a toy the use of which will entail a certain amount of construction work thus rendering the toy instructive as well as amusing.

More specifically the object of the invention is to provide a toy which in its operation will simulate warfare as exemplified by an engagement between a tank and a fort.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the toy embodying the present invention, the track for the tank being broken away at intervals in its length;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the toy;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the fort constituting an element of the toy;

Fig. l is a bottpm plan view of the top of the tank;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the several parts of the tank disassembled;

Fig. 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the gun which is to be mounted upon the tank;

Fig. 7 is a vertical transverse sectional view illustrating the manner of supporting the track or the tank.

Briefly stated, the invention consists essentially of a representation of a fort the parts oi which are loosely assembled so that when the fort is struck by a projectile its parts or walls will fall away, and a representation of a tank which is to travel down an inclined track or way in the direction of the fort and which likewise has its parts loosely assembled so that they will fall apart upon the tank being struck by a projectile, the fort and tank each embodying a spring gun and means being provided for automatically firing the gun upon the tank as the tank reaches a predetermined point in its path of movement, other means being provided for automatically firing the gun within the fort when the tank reaches another predetermined point in its path of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

3.919. Serial No. 281,399.

travel so that in the automatic operation of the toy the result of the engagement will be lirs the destruction of the fort and subsequently the destruction of the tank.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates a base upon which the fort is to be mounted and the numerals 2- and 3 indicate respectively the side and rear walls of the fort, the tort being open at its front. The said walls 2 and 3 may be in the nature of small wooden slabs and in setting up these walls. their lower edges are disposed in shallow grooves 4} formed in the upper face of the base 1, the rear wall 3 being disposed in an inclined plane as also the side walls it found desirable although all of the said walls may be vertically disposed if desired. The walls 2 and 3 are entirely disconnected from one another but these walls are maintained in set up position by the engagement of their upper edges in shallow grooves 5 formed in the under side of the top 0t 1'?) tort. which top is indicated by the numeral 6. it will be understood that the edges of the side and rear walls of the fort are not to be snugly or tightly fitted in the grooves l; and 5 formed in the base 1 and top 6 respectively, but that this engagement on the other hand is to be a loose one so that when the projectile fired from the gun upon the tank strikes the fort, all of the walls will fall apart. Fixedly mounted upon the base 1 is a foundation block 7 for the fort gun, this block being housed within the fort comprising the walls heretofore described. when the said walls are properly set up and assembled. indicated in general by the numeral 8 and the same simulates a cannon and comprises a barrel 9 which is suitably mounted upon the foundation block 7, the muzzle of the barrel projecting through the open front of the fort. The projectile which is to be fired from the gun is indicated by the numeral 10 and is preferably in the nature 01 a short cylindrical rod of wood or other suitable material which is fitted into the bore 11 of the gun. At a point near its rear end the projectile 10 is formed with a circumscribing groove 12 which, when the gun is loaded registers with or is located opposite an opening 13 formed in the under side of the barrel of the gun. A trigger indicated in general by the numeral 14 is pivotally mounted by a small eye member 15 upon the under side of the barrel of the The gun for the fort is gun and this trigger may be formed from a' suitable length of wire bent at the forward side of its pivot to form a detent 16 which projects upwardly through the opening 13 and engages in the groove 12 in the projectile 1.0 when the projectile is inserted into the bore of the gun. The trigger at the opposite or rear side of its pivot is bent to extend downwardly as indicated by the numeral 17 and its lower end is engaged by or connected with the rear end or a rod 18 slidably mounted in suitable eye members 19 upon the upper side of the base 1. This rod extends longitudinally of the base and'beneath and forwardy beyond the muzzle on the gun 8 and at its forward end is provided with a small knob 20 which constitutes a butter or abutment against which the tank, to be hereinafter described, will strike when the tank reaches a point in close proximity to the fort. The projectile is to be fired from the gun by a coil spring:

21 which is suitably arranged within the inner end of the bore 11 of the gun and which spring is compressed when the projectile is fitted into the said bore, the in ner or rear end of the projectile engaging the said spring, and the projectile in its loaded position having its forward end located substantially at the muzzle of the gun barrel and restrained from discharge by the engagement of the detent 16 of the trigger 1 1 in the said groove 12. It will be evident at this point that when the rod 18 is thrust rearwardly, the trigger lei will be swung upon its pivot so as to disengage the detent 16 from the groove 12 whereupon the spring 21 will immediately act to discharge the projectile 10 from the barrel of the gun in the direction of approach of the tank.

As before stated the ta k is to travel along a track and this track 1s inclined so that the tank will. travel by gravity down the said track in the direction of the tort. This track maybe 01 any desired construction but it preferably comprises two parallel rails 22 which may be of wood, metal, or any other suitable material or a combination of materials and which rails are pro vided at their upper sides and at their outer edges withupstanding flanges 23 so that the wheels or" the tank .will not pass oi? oi the ails the tank moves down the t 'ack.

These rails at their lower ends are notched as indicated by the. numeral 2.4: so as to engage or interlock with suitable notches 25 formed in the forward corners of the base 1. The rails 23are supported and. held in spaced relation through the medium of a suitable number oi upright frames one of which is clearly shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. 'Eachof these frames comprises a pair of uprights or standards 26 connect ed by diagonal intersecting brace members 27, the standards 26 being provided at their upper ends with small tenons or studs 28 which fit in suitablesockets 29 formed in v the under sides of the rails 22. This constructlon, of course, permits of disassemblage of the rails and their supports so that the tank are indicated by the numeral 32 and the rear wall by the numeral 33, these walls corresponding respectively to the walls 2 and 3 oi the tort heretofore described. As in the case of the fort, the side and rear walls of the tank are disposedat their lower edges in suitable grooves 34 formed in the upper side of the bottom 30 of the said tank and these side and rear walls are supported in set up position by the engagement 01 their upper edges in grooves 35 formed in the under side of the top of the tank which top is indicated by the numeral 36. The gun for the tank is illustrated in detail in Fig. 6 of the drawings and the same comprises, as in the instance of the gun for the fort, a barrel 3'7, a projectile 38, a propelling spring 39 for the projectile, and a trigger 4C0 pivotally mounted as at 4.1 upon the under side of the barrel and having an upbent detent 4-2 at one side of its pivot fitting through an opening in the under side of the barrel and engaging in a circumscribing groove d3 formed in the projectile 38. The trigger at the opposite side of its pivot is bent downwardly to provide a depending finger 4% The gun for the tank is mounted or stepped in a recess orsocket 45 provided for its reception in the upper face of the bottom 30 of the tank, the linger 14a of the trigger extending downwardly through a slot 46 formed in the said bottom This finger is of such length that it will project beneath the bottom of the tank and to a position where it will strike a tripping element 1? in. the nature of a pin or small rod arrangedto extend between the rails of the track at any desired point in the length of the track. Preferably the bottom 30 of the tank is provided with a tapered forwardly extending butler portion 4:8 for engagement with the bufl'er'or abutment 2O heretofore described.

The walls of the fort and tank having been assembled and the guns of the two having been loaded, the tank is disposed at the upper end ofthe inclined track and is then released. The tankwill travel by gravity down the said track and at a predetermined point in its movement the finger 4A- of its gun will come into engagement with the element A? resulting in the trigger being tripped whereupon the spring 39 will immediately discharge the projectile 38 from the gun in the direction of the fort. l hen the pro ectile strikes the fort the walls of the tort will collapse or rail apart, but the tank has not yet reached the lower end of the track. in the continued movement of the tank, its butter portion 48 will strike the butter 20 upon the rod 18 thus thrusting the rod in a rearward direction and tripping the trigger 14 of the fort gun whereupon the spring 21 01? this gun will immediately discharge the projectile 10 in the direction of the tank and when the projectile strikes, the walls of the tank will "fall apart.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

l. A toy comprising means forcibly discharging a projectile, a member movable in the direction of said means, and means in the path of movement of the said memher for actuating the said means to discharge its projectile in the direction of the said member.

2. A toy comprising means forcibly discharging a projectile, a member movable by gravity in the direction of said means, and means in the path of movement of the said member for actuating the said means to discharge its projectile.

3. A toy comprising a projectile discharging device, a collapsible member movable in the direction of said device, and means in the path of movement of the said memher for actuating the said device to discharge its projectile in the direction of the said collapsible member.

t. A toy comprising means forcibly discharg' a projectile, an inclined track, a member movable down the track in the direction of the said means, and means in the path of movement of the said member for actuating the said means to discharge its projectile in the direction of the said memher.

5. A toy comprising means forcibly discharging a projectile including a trigger, a member movable in the direction of said means, the said means being arranged to discharge in the direction of the said memher, and an abutment element coacting with the trigger and arranged in the path of movement of the said member.

6. A toy comprising a projectile discharg ingdevice including a trigger, a member movable in the direction of said device, and

a slidably mounted rod coacting at one end with the trigger and having an abutment portion located in the path of movement of the said member.

7. A toy comprising a relatively stationary member, means forcibly discharging a projectile and movable in the direction of the said member, the said member being col.- lapsible, and means in the path of movement of the projectile discharging means for actuating the same to discharge its projectile in the direction of the said member.

8. A toy comprising projectile discharging devices, one being relatively stationary and the other being movable in the direction of the first mentioned device, and means in the path of movement of the last-mentioned projectile discharging device for successively actuating both of said devices.

9. A toy comprising projectile discharging devices one movable in the direction of the other, and means in the path of movement of the movable device and actuated through movement of the said device to actuate both of said devices to discharge their respective projectile.

10. A toy comprising projectile discharging devices one of said devices being movable in the direction of the other, means arranged in the path of movement of the first mentioned device for actuating the same to discharge its projectile in the direction of the second mentioned device, and means also arranged in the path of movement of the first mentioned device for actuating the second mentioned device to discharge its projectile in the direction of the first mentioned device.

11. A toy comprising projectile discharging devices one movable in the direction of the other, means for actuating the first mentioned device to discharge its projectile at a predetermined point in its movement, and means actuated by the first mentioned device at another point in its movement to actuate the second mentioned device to discharge its projectile in the direction of the first mentioned device.

12. In a toy, a pair of collapsible members simulating fighting elements and each carryin projectile discharging means, and means whereby the force of gravity moves one of the members toward the other and having a trip operating one of said projectile discharging means whereby the projectile from one member impacts the other member causing collapse of both members.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

CHAS. SHUBRIOK SIMMONS. [It 3.] 

